5 DAYS TO GO!!!!

This time next week we will be three plus a dog. that's still hard to imagine or think of but I am ecstatic and ready for this next journey.

This is a picture of us at what will be our last football game as just the 2 of us. I was pretty uncomfortable and I finally convinced Aaron we should leave at half time, which wasn't too hard Jasper was losing pretty bad.

This is a picture of Luke and myself. Luke is what I would call my nephew. He is my step-brothers son. Regardless he is a doll and I love him already. Plus it makes me happy to know Noelle will have a friend to play with when we go visit my parents.

This is the last ultrasound picture of Miss. Noelle, it was done at 37 weeks. I think she is perfect and can't wait to kiss all over them chubby cheeks!

3 B's of 34 weeks

I titled this post 3 B's of 34 weeks because a lot has happened in this 34 th week of pregnancy and it just so happens that the majority of them start with the letter B. (How Sesame Street did I just sound?)

B #1
Baby shower! This past Saturday was my family baby shower for Noelle. It was a little weird since all of my side of the family live in VA or OH so I didn't exactly expect them to show up for that. But Aaron's side of the family all live within an hour of us and none of them showed up. I did have a few very dear friends show up along with the future grandmas and Aaron's sister. Noelle got lots of cute goodies and some much needed necessities.

B #2
Bronchitis! Yes that's right I started feeling sickly on Saturday night around 3 AM. I woke up coughing with a fever of 101. Well we stayed home from church and I stayed home from work on Monday and just rested. Well Monday night I checked my temp and our handy dandy thermometer said 103 then 102 so I knew I was really sick. So I stayed home Tuesday and made an appointment with a local Dr. (Long story there, basically I was told they thought it would be best to see my OB and that I was more than welcome to come back after I had given birth) I called my OB and he was out of the office for the week and his office recommended I go to a minor care clinic in Beaumont. So I headed to Beaumont and was diagnosed with bronchitis and given a prescription for an antibiotic and told that since I was pregnant there was no real medicine I could take for cough. Jump forward to today I still have a cough and some congestion but I am starting to feel a little better.

B #3
Braxton-Hicks contractions! I had my first ever Braxton-Hicks contraction last night. It wasn't as painful as I thought it would be but it definitely stopped me in my tracks. I guess that means Miss. Noelle will be making her appearance soon, and I can't wait!

36 Days and counting...I have a feeling it will be sooner than that. I go back to my OB on Monday so I guess we will see! :)

32 Weeks and Nesting!!

Today marks my 32nd week of pregnancy!! Woo-Hoo! I am posting 2 pictures that Aaron took this morning on my phone. I decided last week that I should have been taking belly shots all along but I guess it just slipped my mind. I absolutely LOVE being pregnant and think I will be a little saddened when it's all over.

This was the first picture and Aaron said my shirt was too dark to show anything, personally I blame the photographer ;). Last night I think started the nesting stage of pregnancy. I have been waiting for this one to kick in, maybe my house will be cleaner. I spent over 2 hours sitting on my living room floor (should have thought that one out a little better) surrounded by dresser drawers and clean baby clothes. *note: I should give a shout out to my MIL for washing all of Noelle's clothes for the first 6 months. She loves doing those kinds of things so why not let her enjoy, right?* I got so excited at all of her clothes I can't wait! Aaron said he wished we could skip the whole birth thing and have her in our arms. I agree but I want to experience this entire pregnancy thing to it's fullest so I guess we can wait about 8 more weeks!

Our Little Diva

Here is our little diva, as I like to call her. She had her hand in this position the entire ultrasound, it looks like she is saying "Oh just leave me alone". TOO STINKIN' CUTE!! (I must say) She still has her daddy's nose, there is no denying her. My mother said she has the lips of Angelina Jolie. While a friend said she had mine, I personally like her opinion. but any way here is the light of my world and I can't wait to hold her in my arms!

The Power of Prayer

The last few weeks have been a crazy hectic time. My last post I talked about the specialist I was sent to by my OB for "high-risk 3rd trimester pregnancies, and up until August 11th things seemed to be okay. I mean there were a few concerns but nothing had prepared me for what we found out. During my ultrasound my Dr is checking the Doppler (measures the blood flow in the umbilical cord) and instantly turn off the machine and starts talking about the baby isn't getting enough blood! Um..wait back up was my thought I sat and listened as he tried explaining to me what was going on and this was the conclusion.
Side note:
I was diagnosed with MTHFR (I use the acronym because the word is about 50 letters long.) before trying to get pregnant back in January. Basically my body doesn't process Folic Acid and other B vitamins and I have a problem with blood clotting all related to the MTHFR. There is no major cause for concern with this until you try to become pregnant, and once that occurs you are out on about 8 different meds including shots.

So back to my conclusion...
Dr. Reiter said that the problem with the baby is related to my previous diagnosis and it was causing the placenta to separate from the uterus which resulted in the blood flow from the umbilical cord to the baby to be at a lower level than he liked. And we had to come back in 1 week to be checked again. I asked if there was anything I could do and his response was don't stress and take it easy (YEAH RIGHT!) I also asked what would happen if the blood flow kept decreasing and his response was that if in 1 week the blood flow had decreased significantly I would have to induced and we would be having a baby. Another side note: at this time I was only 28 1/2 weeks pregnant.

So with that news Aaron and I were sent to the front to check out and schedule our next appointment. I held myself together until we got to the parking garage where I completely lost it! I was bawling crying and my ever so sweet husband asked if we could stop and pray for the baby right there in the parking garage. After we prayed we headed to my mom's work so we could fill her in. Along the way I text our closest friends and family and asked them to just pray for Noelle. It was at that point I realized how great our friends, family, and church family was and how caring they all were about the news.

Jump forward to August 18th- Aaron, my mom, and I went to Dr. Reiter's office for the follow up appointment. i don't know who was more nervous Aaron or myself. He was shaking and sweating and didn't say a word! So during the ultrasound which seemed to take forever because he was checking growth and bone lengths then he turned on the Doppler. The blood flow from the umbilical cord to Noelle had in fact decreased but it had not decreased as significantly as it could. Can we all jump, shout, and do a little happy dance?!?! I have never been so relieved and blessed by God then at that moment. I still have to be monitored but so far so good and Noelle is still a moving and a shaking on a regular basis. I know with all my heart and soul that the Lord answered our prayers and I can't stop smiling knowing His love for our precious baby girl. I also can't help but wonder what magnificent plan He has in store for her life!

I tried uploading our most recent 4D ultrasound picture from the 18th but I was having some difficulty, next time I promise.

New look...

Here is Aaron and I at our PBC's Astro's game.

I really should apologize for my absence, there is no excuse. I have decided to become a better blogger, especially since in November things will become a little hectic. I will just give a few updates since I last posted.

~We are having a GIRL and her name will be Noelle Elise. We chose Noelle for a couple of reasons. First we LOVE the name. Second it is very similar to my late grandmother and Aaron's late aunt, they were both named Nell. Aaron chose Elise...I have no idea where it came from but I am growing to love it more and more with everyday. Ms. Noelle has become quite the little acrobat and I can't think of a better feeling than that. I am still having to see a "high-risk third trimester" Dr., we were told we would only have to see him once but that has turned into three times so far. We can't really complain though, I am glad my OB is so thorough. Plus who would complain about seeing the miracle God has blessed them with every 4 weeks :).

Look at that cuteness!! I think she looks like Aaron, what do you think?

~ Aaron's 30th Birthday is vastly approaching, August 13, and I think we are going to stay pretty low key. I did happen to get him some tickets for the Houston Texans vs. Dallas Cowboys pre-season game on the 28th. We are both pretty excited about it. I just hope he enjoys it.

~Summer has been pretty bittersweet I must say. We are overjoyed with new bundle coming but then it so hard when we have had 4 friends/family members that have had miscarriages this summer. It is so hard on what to say or do so I find myself praying TONS for these women and others like them.

16 Weeks and 4 Days

I am almost 1/2 way there and I can't even begin to imagine how much our lives will change. I am so excited, nervous, and just so thankful for this blessing. My pregnancy thus far has been pretty awesome I must say. I mean I did have nausea for a few weeks in the mornings and that's when I discovered how well saltines really work. I only had one real "sickness" night/morning but I am chalking that up to the baby doesn't seem to like Pei Wei or Chinese food for that matter. I have however had some cravings the one that seems to NEVER be satisfied is my absolute LOVE for this:

But this is by far my favorite kind, so I only get this once in a blue moon and I enjoy every last drop!

My other craving that I must have is this....(I thought this picture was well suited for me)

Yesterday I did get the strongest craving yet....

I don't have any idea about this lat one and they still are on my brain, I hoping to find some today after work. I am sure it is full of horrible things I don't need to eat but a 2 day craving is well deserved, right?

On another note I have felt the baby move on quite a few occasions. I checked with another pregnant friend to make sure what I was feeling was right. The best part she described it the same way I have been trying to explain to Aaron, I think that's the best part so far! Well that and seeing my baby move on the sonogram screen for the first time are probably tied for first! We do have an appointment next Wednesday, June 2nd in Houston with a Dr about be having to start up those shots again and my OB said this Dr would do a FULL anatomy scan of baby so hopefully my next post will be of our baby girl or boy. I can't wait!

Update

Wow! Has it really been since February?? My life honestly can't be that busy or hectic. I just spent the last 50 minutes updating myslef with everyone elses blogs and then I realized mine.

The biggest news that has happened to Aaron and I since my last post is we are expecting (insert the biggest smile here)!!!! we found out on February 24th at about 5:45 in the morning. We had decided to keep it a secret from everyone until we were absolutly sure that things were all good. 14 weeks and 3 days later...we all good! After 7 weeks of a morning shot and 11 medications later this is what I have to show for it and it is AMAZING!!

So in honor of Mother's Day and our 3 year anniversary on May 19th I recieved these gifts along with the sweetest card that made me cry. I have been blessed with the most amazing husband and I am so thankful God brought him into my life!

Motions

So most of the Godly people in my life right now have been saying God has been working in their life right now. I can actually see that, the past couple of weeks Jared, our pastor, has been preaching sermons on doing something more with your normal life. Make a difference or at least that's how I am getting it. There is this AMAZING song by Matthew West, called "Motions". Here are the lyrics, and I have to say this could possibly be my favorite song. Oh and it helps to explain where I am in my life.


This might hurt, it's not safe
But I know that I've gotta make a change
I don't care if I break,
At least I'll be feeling something 'Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,instead of going through the motions?"

No regrets, not this time
I'm gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love make me whole
I think I'm finally feeling something 'Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of this life

'Cause I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,"What if I had given
everything,instead of going through the motions?"

take me all the way (take me all the way)take me all the way ('cause I don't wanna go through the motions)take me all the way (I know I'm finally feeling something real)take me all the way

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,instead of going through the motions?"

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,instead of going through the motions?"

take me all the way (take me all the way)take me all the way (I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go)take me all the way (through the motions)take me all the way
I don't wanna go through the motions

Hot Hearts and Some Studying

Our Peachtree Crew! minus Leslie, she was sick :(

Aaron and I at like 8 am going on about 4 hours of sleep

On Friday night Aaron and I had the privilege to attend Hot Hearts 2010 with our Church's youth group. I for one had NEVER been to anything like that before so I had no idea what to expect. One word.....AWESOME!! It was so good. I got to hear some amazing music (Toby Mac and Lincoln Brewster) and some amazing sermons from a man out of North Carolina, Clayton King. I got to room with two Junior High girls which was different but I was glad I got to know them a little better.

On another note I have been doing a bible study for a couple of weeks. It has taken me some time to get into it and I L-O-V-E!!! Last night I was looking through everything I had said and refreshing my memory about a few things and I was reminded of two verses from Romans 5:6-8

6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Stop and sit on that for a minute, it gave me chills! It is so amazingly true. I love God and all He has done not only for me but for you too! Happy Monday!

What's with you?!?

That was the question I was asked a few days ago and have been pondering. I didn't respond to this question right away because I didn't know how to respond, until today.
As I am sure all 1 of you that read my blog know I am a paraprofessional (teacher's aide) and I have what's called 3rd grade lunch duty (woo-hoo) one of the ladies I work with asked me this question and today I asked her what did you mean.
Her response~ "you're just so happy all the time".
My response~ "REALLY?!?, um why not be happy? Aren't you?"
Her~ "No, I hate this place."

Then we had to break so we could tend to juice spills and children that forget their sporks.

I have been sitting here and thinking about this on my lunch break and my response...
God!

Now, let me explain this a little better. I mean sure I got saved and baptized a few years ago but there was just something missing. So here in the last 4 months I have really dug in my heels and stopped to listen, pray, and read my bible. It has been so incredibly AH-MAZING!! I can't even begin to explain how I feel and my excitement for each new day. I mean don't get me wrong I am not walking around with a smile plastered on my face being all giddy and sure sometimes I get upset or frustrated but then I have to stop and remember why I am here and is this how I want to be...no! So that's my response, hopefully you get it too :)